DAILY GK 29 JULY 2020
1. GOI FUNDED 10 BROAD GAUGE LOCOMOTIVES HANDED OVER
TO BANGLADESH
·
Indian
Railways handed over the specifically modified 10 railway broad gauge
locomotives to Bangladesh, which will help in handling the increasing volume of
passenger and freight train operations in Bangladesh.
·
All
locomotives can attain speed of up to 120 km per hour and have a residual life
of 28 years or more.
·
The
locomotives were flagged off virtually to Bangladesh by External Affairs
Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Railway
Minister Piyush Vedprakash Goyal.
·
New
rail link, between Agartala in India and Akhaura in
Bangladesh is being constructed & financed under Grant Assistance of India
to further strengthen rail connectivity.
2. RAVINES OF CHAMBAL REGION INTO ARABLE LAND
·
Narendra
Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare announced that
the Central Government in collaboration with the World Bank has decided to
convert the area of ravines in the region of Gwalior-Chambal belt of Madhya
Pradesh into cultivable land.
·
Around 3
lakh hectares land of this region are non-cultivable, this conversion will
improve and support the integrated development of the Bihad area in the region
of Gwalior-Chambal.
3. INDIA’S GDP BOOSTS TO 2.5% BY AI : REPORT
·
Narendra
Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare announced that
According to The report titled, ’Implications of AI on the Indian
Economy’ by National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) along
with the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) and Google,
a unit increase(measured as the ratio of AI to total sales) in Artificial
Intelligence(AI) intensity can result in a 2.5% increase in
India’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP) in the immediate term.
·
The
report noted that the Investment of Rs 7,000 crore, announced in the Union
Budget towards AI program will increase AI investments at rates higher than the
business-as-usual-rates.
4. 100 ELECTRIC POTTERS WHEELS TO ARTISANS OF GUJARAT
·
Under
the ‘Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana’ of the Khadi and Village
Industries Commission (KVIC) Union Home Minister Amit Shah
distributed 100 electric potters wheels to 100 trained artisans of Gujarat.
·
The
KVIC have trained around 100 potters from around 14 villages and distributed
around 100 electric potters wheels and 10 blunger machines.
5. CROP INSURANCE CAMPAIGN, ‘BOHOT ZAROORI HAI’
·
Bharti
AXA General Insurance has
launched its crop insurance campaign,’Bohot Zaroori Hai’ for
farmers in Maharashtra and Karnataka to encourage them about their yield
protection and financial security.
·
It
aims to create awareness to farming communities about the relevance and
significance of crop insurance.
·
Bharti
AXA General Insurance had received Rs 800 crore worth crop insurance mandate
from the governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka to insure their farmers under
the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
6. LIQUIDITY SUPPORT FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES IN MALDIVES
·
On
the occasion of Independence Day of the Maldives on July 26, 2020, the largest
Indian public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI) provided liquidity support
of USD 16.20 million as a COVID-relief for the Government of Maldives to
overcome liquidity shortage.
·
It
should be noted that the year 2020 marks the 55 years of
establishment of diplomatic ties between India and the Maldives.
·
The
growing relationship between both nations is premised upon the ‘India
First’ policy of Maldives and ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy
of India.
7. INDIAN OIL AND FRANCE’S JV TO MAKE SUPERIOR QUALITY BITUMEN
·
Indian
Oil Corporation(IOC) has formed an equal(50:50) Joint Venture(JV) with
France’s Total S.A. to manufacture and market high-quality
innovative bitumen derivatives and superior quality products
like polymer-modified bitumen, crumb rubber modified bitumen among others for
the growing road-building industry in India.
·
The
JV will commence by taking over an existing plant of Total at Jodhpur,
Rajasthan.
8. ANTÓNIO GUTERRES’S NEW YOUTH ADVISORY GROUP ON
CLIMATE CHANGE
·
The
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres named
Indian climate activist Archana Soreng among 7 members to his
new Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change.
·
The
members will advise him regularly on accelerating global action and also
provide solutions to tackle the worsening climate crisis.
·
This
is to mobilize climate action as part of the COVID-19 recovery efforts.
·
The
members are between the ages of 18 and 28 years old
9. WORLD HEPATITIS DAY 2020 – JULY 28
·
The first World
Hepatitis Day was observed on 28th July 2011.
·
Theme- “Hepatitis-free
future” focusing on prevention of Hepatitis B among mothers and
newborns.
